The Flintstones: Cartoon Icons of American TV

The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American TV series that ran from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on the ABC network.  Produced by the team of Hanna-Barbera, The Flintstones follows the lives and adventures of two working-class Stone-Age families, the Flintstones and the Rubbles.  Though telecast in black-and-white during its first two seasons, it was filmed in color from the start.  A clever juxtaposition of modern everyday concerns in a Stone Age setting, The Flintstones takes place in the "modern" metropolis of Bedrock.  (In some of the earlier episodes, it was referred to as "Rockville.”)  In this fantastic vision of the ancient past, dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, and other long-extinct animals co-exist with barefoot cavemen who drive cars.  Read more. . .

Cartoon Icons of American TV: Beany and Cecil

Beany and Cecil is an animated cartoon series created by director Bob Clampett who initially worked for Warner Brothers.  Credited with other TV classics such as The Daffy Doc, Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, Corny Concerto, and Porky in Wackyland, Clampett had always been interested in puppetry, so on February 28, 1949, two years after leaving Warner Brothers, his “Time For Beany” television puppet show first appeared in Matty’s Funday Funnies.  Originating from Paramount’s KTLA-TV studios in Hollywood, CA, the characters introduced on the first telecast included Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent, Captain Horatio K. Huffenpuff (commander of the good ship "Leakin’ Lena"), Huffenpuff’s nephew Beany Boy, and the dastardly, Dishonest John.  Read more . . .

Cartoon Icons of American TV: Heckle and Jeckle

Heckle and Jeckle are popular cartoon characters created by artist Paul Terry, and released by his own studio, Terrytoons, for 20th Century Fox.  Their names were inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Combining the wit of Bugs Bunny and a mischievous streak reminiscent of Woody Woodpecker, Heckle and Jeckle are a pair of identical magpies who calmly outwit their numerous foes in each adventure.  (Many viewers mistakenly think they are crows.)  In many episodes, however–“Moose On the Loose,” “Free Enterprise,” “The Power of Thought,” and “Hula Hula Land," their foes inevitably come out on top.   One magpie–Jeckle–speaks with a distinguished British accent, while Heckle, a Brooklyn, New York dialect. Heckle frequently refers to Jeckle simply as ‘chum’ or ‘pal,’ while Jeckle refers to Heckle as ‘old chap,’ ‘old boy,’ and ‘old featherhead’– indicating the close friendship between them.  Read more . . .